Just Breathe
by SomedayonBroadway
Summary: Up at the window with ready, smiling faces were all the usual boys that met at Jack's apartment. Specs, Henry, Elmer, Albert, JoJo and... that was it. Now it was known that something was wrong. "Where's Race?" (Sequel to An Unexpected Cry For Help)
1. chapter 1

**Warning: Mentions of rape.**

 **Hello again guys! Thank you guys for following me to the next story of my modern AU series. Also that reminds me, if there's something that you guys wanted to see in this series, like a story of their pasts, let me know. I'll write it. I'm open to many ideas. Thank you!**

 **Enjoy the first chapter!**

It should have been a normal morning for the boys. It was a Friday. All Jack wanted was to get through the day with his brothers and to go into the weekend with a smile on his face. But it was never that easy, was it?

It had started out like any other day. Crutchie was up first of course, and the boy set out some cereal for his brother, trying to repay him for all the times he'd done it for him. Then Jack slept for ten extra minutes before some of the boys ran up the fire escape. At that moment Jack was tipped off that something was wrong with one of his boys in particular.

Up at the window with ready, smiling faces were all the usual boys that met at Jack's apartment. Specs, Henry, Elmer, Albert, JoJo and... that was it. Now it was known that something was wrong.

"Where's Race?" Jack asked the boys who were waiting for him to get out of his home and off to school.

JoJo and Albert sighed before looking back down at the ground to the alleyway below the small, studio apartment. Jack followed his gaze and saw something extremely unfamiliar. There was their gambling, smart mouth, best friend. He was sitting with his back against the wall of the building next to them. His legs were lazily stretched in front of him and his eyes were closed. His left arm was hanging down by his side and his right arm was stretched over his knee. He was propped up against his book bag and he looked to be asleep.

"Hasn't said a word all mornin'." JoJo said in a small voice. Albert nodded and patted the fifteen year old on the back. Jack nodded and looked back down at his oldest friend, Crutchie limping over to his side, also taking a look at the boy.

This had only happened once before. When Race was fourteen, he'd been caught with a cigar in his pocket. Not that he ever smoked, but he just always had one on him. Only a few of the boys knew why. He'd been dragged off to the hell that the government calls The Refuge. Many of the boys had been there and just by saying the name it almost always made everyone clam up and start having flashbacks of that awful place. But only Jack knew of the terrors Race went through while he was there.

The poor boy was sentenced to one week and got held there for five. The night he was released he'd shown up at Jack's window. His was vigorously tapping on the glass to get Jack's attention. His clothes were torn apart and he was covered in blood and bruises. He sobbed that night but didn't say a word. In fact, he didn't say a word until over a month later.

It killed Jack to think of that happening again. He'd been so scared he'd lost Race. He thought he'd never hear that sarcastic voice or see that cocky smile ever again. He wasn't willing to go through that all over.

Jack looked at his boys' worried faces and smiled. "It'll be ok. I'll talk ta him, make sure he's ok." He assured them before slipping out the window and helping Crutchie out behind him.

Once they made it down to the alleyway, before Jack could even get a word in, Crutchie was on the ground, sitting next to Racetrack. He didn't say anything. Simply just sat there next to him. Without anything else, Race rested his head on the younger boy's shoulder. For a minute they just sat there like that. Like there weren't five or six other boys staring at them, confused and a little bit shocked.

Suddenly Race's head shot up and he was awake like he'd never even been asleep. His eyes were a bit frantic as he looked around. The first person he saw was Jack. He looked back at Crutchie and the boy patted his shoulder. His face showed no expression until he looked back up and saw the other boys looking at him and then shooting their gazes to the ground when he made eye contact with them. Abruptly, he shot to his feet, surprising them all by not immediately helping up the crippled boy that had been sitting next to him.

"What are you all looking at?" He growled, shoving past Elmer and Specs and stomping off towards the school.

Albert looked at Jack for an answer but the older boy shrugged, helping up his little brother off the ground and jerking his head in the direction Race had taken off in.

Race tried to breathe. He tried his best to stay calm but that wasn't his strong suit. It was Jack's. Jack was the one that kept it together. He was the one that always had a way and never lost control. Race was different. He couldn't control his emotions like his big brother. Today was gonna be hard. And he knew it. But he tried to stay ahead of the group so that no questions were asked. He knew if he answered them, he'd be in for a world of hurt. But he certainly never planned for the little boy with the dark hair that came running at him.

"Hiya Race!" The boy said in his innocent, sweet, little voice.

"Hey Romeo." Race sighed and ruffled the kids hair.

Romeo looked at Race skeptically. He saw the dark circles under the older boy's eyes and the way he stepped carefully, like if he stepped the wrong way he'd hurt himself. "What's wrong Race?" He asked, ready to help his big brother through anything. But he didn't know that Race would react the way he did.

"Nothin'! I'm fine!" He snapped, pushing Romeo back just a little bit, not to hurt him, but to make him walk with the others so he could get a little time to himself.

Romeo froze. Sure, Race had been known for loosing his temper from time to time. But he never exploded at Romeo. Never. So he waited for Jack and the rest of them to catch up with him before looking at Jack with confused eyes.

Jack wished he had the answers right then for his boys. It was true that Race got angry from time to time but he never snapped at the younger kids. Him and Albert were known to fight but at the end of the day they'd be the best of friends again. This was different. Something was wrong. And Jack was gonna find out what it was.

"Romeo, Specs is gonna walk ya ta school today, alright?" Jack instructed, giving the boys shoulder a squeeze. The small boy wordlessly nodded his head and walked over to Specs as they reached the entrance of their school. The two ran off to the middle school and Davey was seen rounding the corner to join them. Then Jack looked around and saw Race sitting alone again, just inside the building. All Jack could do was sigh as he watched the kid. He just wanted to know what was going on in that head of his.

He studied the boy as they waited for the bell. Race never caught him looking at him or even really cared but Jack noticed just about everything that happened in that ten minutes. Every time someone would brush past Race's legs, his eyes got a bit wider and he adjusted his position. His phone would go off every few minutes and he'd respond in a rush, always replying within the same minute. He rubbed at his eyes, like he'd gotten no sleep last night and he hunched over every few minutes as if he was about to be sick.

When the bell finally rang, Jack found himself muttering to no one. "What the hell happened to you kid?"

 **What's up with Race today? Man. Anyways, make sure to tell me anything. I love reading reviews, requests and any questions you guys might have for me.**

 **Also! I've been getting a lot of Jatherine requests. I will tell you guys now, I'm not a huge fan of OC's so I won't really write those things and Romance is a harder thing for me to write but if you guys liked my first one, please make sure to go review it and give me any other ideas you guys might have for those types of stories. I am open to writing romance if that's what you guys want. I love your guys requests and I always try to carry them out when it's possible. Thank you!**

 **As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello friends! Thank you guys who have favorited or followed my story. Make sure to tell me what you think of it by leaving me a review.**

 **Don't forget to check out my other fics, the ones in this series before this if you haven't already and if you have any suggestions for me, I will definitely take them into consideration. Thank you!**

It was break. Ten minutes of talking with his boys after English with Bowery and before math with Seitz. But today it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Race was still acting weird. Not talking until someone talked to him and then blowing up at them when they did. He made it a point to sit as far away from Jack as he could. He sat in the very back of Weasel's class and flat out avoided him in English by going to the restroom or getting water or anything else whenever Jack got near him.

Jack knew why. He knew that he was the only one who could ever calm Race down or get the thoughts out of Race's head. He took pride in being the only one of the boys who could over power the boy and make him sit down and talk to him. And clearly Race didn't want to talk. But he might not have a choice as they had lockers right next to each other.

The blond gambler walked up to his locker in silence. Jack watched him, waiting for him to look up from the floor, but he didn't. Race simply opened his locker, pretending that Jack wasn't even there.

Jack glanced over at Crutchie, who stood next to him at his own locker. Some of the other boys were looking over at him from all over the hallway, waiting for him to try and talk to Racetrack. He sighed and looked over at the boy but somehow, Race anticipated his action.

"Don't, Jack." He demanded firmly. "Just don't." He didn't look up at him. His eyes stayed definitely down at the books in his locker. His voice held a lot of emotion that was hard for Jack to decipher. So he just sighed and spoke gently.

"I just wanna know what's goin' on kid." He tried. "Ya got all the boys worried about ya." He tried to put his hand on the sixteen year old's shoulder and realized soon that he'd made a mistake.

Race felt the hand on his shoulder and panicked. He fiercely tore himself from the grip and turned around and was met with Jack's shocked face. "I'm fine!" He yelled backing away. He felt bad for scaring his oldest friend but he couldn't control his own emotions right now.

Little did Race know that when he backed up, he would run into someone who he shouldn't've. Willy Bulls. He was a football player. A big shot who thought he ruled the school. And no one stopped him. He was huge. The strongest boy at the school. Now that the Delanceys had backed off as much as they could, these jokers thought they could mess around with the boys because they were no longer "claimed". And it made Jack angry. But not as angry as he'd be in a minute.

"Watch it Higgins!" The seventeen year old growled. "Or you won't be able ta walk in anyone else's way ever again!" He tried to push past Race but the boy stood his ground. "If we wasn't in the middle of school right now, you'd be in the ground kid!"

Race seethed at the older boy. Later, he would regret his actions, but in the moment, he was too furious to care. "Don't let that stop ya Bulls! It's not like ya could hit me that hard anyways ya dumb, weak, little bastard!"

And that was it. Then next thing Race knew, he was on the ground, kicking and screaming as his brothers tried desperately to get him to stop. He had gotten a few good shots in, but the sad truth was, Will was stronger than him. A lot stronger than him. And Race was already hurting. His arms throbbed where there were already bruises and where new ones were forming and his legs burned as he kicked the other boy to try and get out from under his grasp. But he kept on fighting, even after he received a hard blow to the head that caused his vision to go black for a moment. He was dragged up by the collar and when his vision cleared, he saw the crowd that had gathered.

He saw Henry and JoJo and Albert trying to get Willy away from him. He saw Crutchie sitting behind everyone with wide eyes. He was no doubt shoved over there when the fight had started by Jack. Then Race started to wonder, where was Jack? But that didn't matter, because Willy lunged for him again and he launched himself at the giant boy. He was about to swing his fists again as two strong arms wrapped around his waist.

Race was confused. He was one of the best fighters amongst all of the boys, so who on earth... Then it hit him. He was the second best fighter out of all of his brothers. Second only to his big brother. Jack. He fought hard against the arms of his friend, screaming for Jack to let him go, but it was no use. His arms were pinned at his sides and he was securely strapped onto Jack. The older boy made no move to let go. Eventually, Willy stormed away and the boys were left with a screaming Racetrack.

"Let me go Jack!" He cried, his voice loosing its anger and starting to convey a bit of panic. "I'm fine!"

"You ain't fine!" Jack countered. He sighed and let go of his friend just enough to firmly spin him around. He held the boy by the shoulders, but Race wouldn't look at him. Jack followed Race's gaze wherever it went until he finally got the boy's eyes to meet his. "Look at me kid. What the hell is goin' on?"

Jack saw it in the kid's eyes. Something happened. When Race adjusted his hoodie, which Jack now realized was the red one that he'd given Race when he'd shown up at their window two years ago, after his time in the Refuge, he saw the edge of a brand new scar. Jack could practically see the rest of the marks that were covering the blond boy's body. So Jack grabbed the smaller boy's wrist and held it tightly when Race tried to struggle away.

"Fights over boys! Get to class!" Jack demanded, and immediately all but Crutchie started to disperse. The crippled boy stood with his crutch for a moment before Jack gave him a look to go. He made eye contact with Race one more time before sadly walking away.

He rolled up the sleeve of his old sweatshirt, hiding it from the others view as they walked away. He barely contained his gasp as he saw a fraction of the horrors that covered one of his best friend's body. There were three dark bruises on his forearm. There was one just above his wrist that looked like it wrapped around to the other side, like it was from a rope of some sort. Another was just under his elbow, looking almost identical. The last one was almost in the perfect shape of a hand. And all around these bruises were shallow scratches.

Jack found himself staring at these scars, loosing track of time. His eyes were wide and he barely realized that he'd started to trace the scratches. These scars that would remind Race of whatever had happened the night before for the rest of his life. He pulled his gentle hand back when Race flinched and tried to pull away.

Jack looked up at the boy. He watched as the kid, once again, wouldn't look at him. But he didn't care. All he cared about was getting to the bottom of this and protecting his brother. "Race, who did this?" It came out harsher than Jack had anticipated and Race flinched again as the voice met his ears.

Jack looked around at the halls. Many boys were still around and Jack knew that Race wouldn't say anything in front of anyone else. So he grabbed his brothers chin and forced him to look into his eyes, catching sight of the small bump on the head that Willy had given the smaller boy. He noticed Race starting to lose control of his emotions as he grabbed the boy's face. His eyes were wide and scared.

Jack sighed. "You're comin' with me." He ordered before dragging Racetrack by the wrist down the halls. They stopped at the nurse's office for some ice, but Jack only stopped for a few seconds to go grab it so he could shove it into his friend's hand. "Hold this to your head." He demanded, guiding Race's hand to the bump. Then he dragged Race down to a nearby restroom, shoving him inside before locking the door turning to the boy. He knew no one really walked to the end of the school to use the restroom so he knew they wouldn't likely be disturbed.

Jack looked back at Race who had his hand pressed to his head with a pack of ice in between and he was leaning up against the wall opposite of him. So the older boy leaned up against the door and crossed his arms. "Ya wanna tell me what's goin' on now?" He asked, the anger in his voice not directed at the other boy, but whoever did this to him.

Race shook his head and tried to walk towards the door but Jack pushed himself up, off the wall, and stepped towards him, stopping the boy in his tracks. "They'll give us detention for skippin' class! This is a waste of time Jack!" Race tried, making one final, desperate move to get away from this.

"You ain't a waste of time Race!" Jack shot back, his voice harsh. "Who the hell did this ta ya?!"

"I can't!"

"You know that ain't true!" Jack shot back. "Race, we is brothers." He said sternly. "No matter what."

Race stood defiantly, glaring dangerously at the boy that practically raised him. He sighed angrily before turning around, dropping the ice and just standing for a moment, breathing heavily. But then, out of no where, he started punching the wall. He heard Jack yelling at him to stop but Race couldn't. He was so angry. Angry with everything. Lousy grown ups, crummy schools, even himself. He may have broken his wrist but he didn't feel it. He was too furious.

"Racetrack!" Jack screamed, petrified at what he was seeing. "Hey! Stop it kid! You're hurting yourself!" Jack ran over to him and wrapped him in a tight embrace, turning the boy's face into him, trying desperately to calm him down.

Race fought hard against the strong arms that once again had him pinned. He broke free eventually, after punching Jack in the chest a few times, but Jack just pulled him back in and Race couldn't help but give up. He crashed into his older brother, finally allowing the tears to spill. He buried his head in Jack chest and let out a heart wrenching sob. His whole body gave out on him and he dragged himself and Jack to the ground.

Jack sat on the ground, his back against the cold wall, with a sobbing boy curled up on his lap. Race's legs were sprawled out in front of him as he practically lay in Jack's lap. His torso was curled in on itself as he sobbed, his hands balling up Jack's jeans and his shirt, wishing his life was different.

Jack picked the disregarded ice off the floor and pressed it to his friends bleeding knuckles that were fisted into his old shirt. Race hissed as the cold substance made contact with his burning hand but didn't move out of Jack's embrace. After what felt like hours, Race finally started to calm down.

"Racetrack," Jack sighed, running his hand through the boy's blond, curly hair. "Talk ta me kid." He begged.

"I ain't no kid." Race sniffled and looked up at Jack with sad yet still defiant eyes.

"Well whateva." Jack laughed a little. "You'll always be a kid ta me, little brother." He promised, still running a constant hand through the boy's damp hair. "Who did this, Race?" He asked, gently, leaning down to the boy's ear.

Race sniffled again, playing around with the seem on his friend's shirt. After a moment, he finally sighed and gave in. "She said that if I told anyone... she'd go after you guys... Crutchie first." The tears returned to the poor boy's face as Jack looked down at him, terrified.

"What? Who?" Jack was thrown off. He had no idea what was going on now. "Race what happened?"

Race sobbed some more, into Jack's shirt, before looking up and continuing. "Sh-she followed me ta your apartment, she knows about you guys... an-and the others too..." he stuttered out. He buried himself deeper into Jack's embrace and sobbed harder.

"Race..." Jack breathed in his shock. She?

"L-last night... I w-wasn't st-strong enough... she... she made dinner last n-night..." Race hiccuped. "I-I didn't know, Jack! I didn't know that she drugged the water! But the n-next thing I's know, I couldn't move... or talk... she was on top of me... I had no clothes on... Jack, I can't go back there!" Race cried out. "It was like I was back in the Refuge all over again... with Drake..."

Jack felt himself freeze. Not only his memories of that awful place filling his mind, but the images of what had happened to Race in there filling up, taunting him, teasing him for not being able to save his brother. And Drake. That son of a bitch. The one who took away Race's very innocence. No one knew Drake's first name, only that the rest of the guards called him Drake. He was there when Jack had last been to the Refuge and he made Race's life a living hell.

"You ain't goin' back there, kid. I swear." Jack hugged Race closer and brought the boy's head up to his shoulder as they both stared aimlessly ahead.

"Why does this happen ta me, Jack?" Race chocked out.

Jack sniffled and kissed his brothers soft, curly hair. "I'm so sorry kid...".

That's all he said. What else could he say? He couldn't fix it. He couldn't give Race back his innocence or his childhood. They both needed to face the facts. Race had been taken advantage of. They ripped away his optimistic outlook and his childlike wonder. Right now, he was just a terrified kid. His terrified little brother. His terrified little brother who had been raped. And Jack wasn't about to let it happen again.

 **Poor Race. I just love to torture him. It's so sad. Anyways...**

 **Thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Thank you! Love ya babes!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Good morning fansies! Thank you to Teeloganroryflan for being the first to review! I appreciate it! If you're reading this story please make sure to review it! It's what keeps me going. Thank you!**

 **Also I love requests! If you guys have a idea for a story that you don't want to write yourself (I understand completely) let me know. I'll do the best I can to bring it to life.**

 **Also, today may be the last day I have to post before I go on vacation for a week with no wifi. I will do my best to post if I can, but if not please continue to review! Please continue to give me feedback and requests and right when I'm back from this week of hell I'll get right to them! I promise! Thank you guys for continuing to read this series where I do awful things to my favorite character! It means a lot!**

 **Enjoy!**

It was the end of their last period of the day. Lucky for them, Davey covered for them during Seitz's class by saying they'd gone to the nurse because Race had gotten hit in the head or something. Jack would forever be grateful for that.

Right now, Race sat with JoJo and Specs, having a calm conversation while they did their science class work. But Jack couldn't stop watching him. The kid had been through so much more than him and he put up such an unbreakable wall.

"So..." Crutchie spoke, shyly, and Davey turned to him too, the same question on their faces. "Is he ok?" The innocent boy asked, hopefully. But Jack just had to break the news to him.

"No... no kid, he's not." Jack sighed, gravely.

"What the hell do you mean Jack?" Dave asked, concerned. "What's wrong with him?"

Jack looked back over to his friend who had a big fake smile on his face as he worked with the boys, making sure his sweatshirt stayed over his arms and neck, not letting them see the terrors he'd lived through.

"I..." Jack started, but stopped himself. He couldn't tell them. Race didn't want anyone to know. "I can't." Then the bell rang. Race ran over to him, his smile falling as he saw his friends looking at him with concerned gazed.

"Let's go." He said, annoyed before heading out of the class and walking with the others. Jack had already told him that Specs was picking up Romeo. He didn't want Race near the energetic kid in his state. It upset Race but he understood.

"Ya comin' ta Jacobi's Davey? Katherine's already ditching me for her father." Jack teased, getting up and handing Crutchie his crutch that had been laying on the floor.

"Yeah." He answered, stuffing his things in his bag, before all three of them stood up and headed towards the door. "I have the car today so I'll grab Les and we'll meet you over there."

Jack nodded, still not quite used to having friends with parents and a car. But he patted his friend on the back before the three exited the school.

"Jack," Crutchie sighed, looking up ahead of them at Racetrack. "How bad is it?" He asked in a small voice.

Jack looked up ahead to the boy as well, horrible images popping up in his head. While they were in the bathroom earlier, Jack had gotten Race to tell him what the full story was...

Yesterday night, Race had gotten home around seven thirty. He'd been out with the boys and he'd lost track of the time. Apparently, his new foster mom, of three weeks now, told him to be home a half an hour earlier than that and wasn't too happy when he'd talked back to her, telling her it was no big deal and that she couldn't control him. She decided to prove him wrong.

She put a fake, sweet smile on her face and served him the little dinner that she had made for him, telling him that he didn't even deserve it. Race had taken it and ran down to the basement, which also happened to be his bedroom. He told Jack that he laid down on his sorry excuse for a bed and slowly eaten the bits of food that she'd left for him before completely downing the water. And then he remembered feeling dizzy and tired. The next thing he knew, everything went black.

When the kid had woken up, his wrists were tied together to the top of the bed with ropes and more held together his elbows, painfully. His ankles had been tied separately to the posts at the bottom of the bed and in between his lips there was a rag tied around his head to keep him quiet. He'd been naked and his foster mom was on top of him, yelling at him for misbehaving, screaming that she'd have to punish him. She'd hit him scratched him and done things that no sixteen year old, no one should ever have to go through. Especially not Race.

And this hadn't been the first time either. Back when he was thrown in the Refuge, a memory that would haunt Jack till the day he died, the same thing had happened, only then, the guard, Drake as they called him, didn't need an excuse. About a week into his stay, he had all the guards pissed at him. He would mouth off to them and get beaten real bad for it, but one of the guards saw that as an opportunity. The first time it happened, Race didn't even see it coming. He'd told the boy he was about to be released and that Snyder wanted to see him, but he should've known better than that. He'd been lead to a solitary cell that no one had been using and he'd been hand cuffed to one of the bars. Drake told him it was because he needed to learn how to respect him and shut his mouth. Race screamed but no one came running. And it wasn't a one time thing. Every time Race would complain, mouth off or mumble something sarcastic, he'd be dragged back to that room.

Then he went mute. He shut up and Drake got bored so they released him. Five weeks of that nightmare. Race didn't talk for six more weeks after that. Not to anyone. Not even Jack. But Jack was the first one to hear his voice again. And nothing made him happier than getting to watch Race slowly return to his former self. And it was about to be ripped away all over again.

So Jack turned to Crutchie and sighed. "It's bad, kid." He shook his head. "It's real bad."

Finally they arrived at Jacobi's. The boys went about their usual ways. They messed with each other and did their homework while they ate the little food that they could afford or whatever Jack could pay for to feed them. It was beginning to turn back into a regular day.

Davey showed up with Les, Specs and Romeo, whom he must've given a ride to. Romeo and Les ran over to the boys, excitedly. Jack watched as Romeo sat on Race's lap. He saw the sixteen year old wince a little before putting on a smile and ruffling the kids hair. Then he started teaching Romeo how to play poker as he played with Albert, Elmer and JoJo. Les sat with Albert and the two younger boys watched their card game with intense focus.

It was all starting to look ok. Until a few hours later. Most of the boys were still there. Davey had taken Les home but had come back to hang out with the boys. It was only seven, but the boys were known to hang out at the diner all night on Fridays. No school the next day and they loved being near Jack. No big deal.

Race sat in a booth with Crutchie, Davey, JoJo, Albert, Specs, Henry and Sniper with Romeo stretched out over his lap. They were just talking quietly while Romeo started snoring, lightly. Race ran a hand through the younger boys hair.

Crutchie sat close to Race. He was happy that Race wasn't losing his temper so much now. He just didn't know how long it would last.

"Hey boys." Jack greeted, walking up to them. He smiled at all of them, but his eyes lingered on Race who looked away from him. He got a series of greetings back and just as he was about to open his mouth to speak again, the front door opened.

A woman walked in. Her dark brown, curled hair fell just past her shoulders. She had deep green eyes that stood out against her perfect tan skin. She was on the taller side, and her high heeled shoes only amplified that. She wore a dress that showed off her curves and she stood tall, like she had absolutely nothing in the world to be ashamed of.

Jack looked back at his boys, thinking nothing of this woman, until he saw the look on Race's face. The blond boy froze, the hand that had been running through his little brother's hair had ceased and he stared at the woman. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were wide. After a moment, he put a protective arm over Romeo and scooted as close as he could to Crutchie without jostling the smaller boy.

"Race?" Crutchie asked, confused as to why Race was acting this way. Soon all of his friends were looking at him. Race didn't speak he only shot his eyes down to the floor and tried to duck his head down, praying he'd turn invisible.

Jack looked at him and then looked back at the woman, quickly putting the pieces together. He quickly went over to her, trying his best to stand between her and his boys, hoping he'd block them from her view.

"'Cuse me miss," he said politely, turning on his natural charm. "Can I help ya with somethin'?" He asked with a smile that he hoped hid his boiling rage for this woman he held inside.

She rolled her eyes and tried to move past him, but he stepped in front of her. So she sighed, annoyed, and spoke, "I'm not here for a meal. I'm looking for someone. Anthony Higgins, you seen him?"

Jack could practically feel all eyes turn to him, except Race's. He bit back a sneer as he lied, "No why? He in trouble er somethin'?" Jack laughed.

"He's my foster son, and you could say that." The woman said, her voice emotionless.

JoJo looked over at Race to see him trying to hide. He nudged Albert and soon enough, every boy at the booth was watching the boy that must've been coaching himself to breathe at that moment.

"Oh no." Jack sighed, and he knew his boys would've laughed at his fake pity if the situation hadn't been what it was. "Kids these days." He scoffed. "I'm sorry miss, but we don't get a lot of foster kids around here." He lied.

"Really?" The woman smirked. "Not even with The World right down the street?" She asked.

"I know, it's weird, but I guess this diner just doesn't suit 'em." Jack shrugged as he crossed his arms.

"Well," the woman sighed, clearly pretending to look defeated. "I guess I need to figure out where he spends all his time then." She turned and started walking away, giving Jack just enough time to sag with relief before she turned around. "Oh and, Jack Kelly, when you do see him, tell him Tiffany has excellent connections to the system and that if he doesn't want me to use them he better get his ass back to the house."

Jack froze. His smile completely fell as his features became stone hard. "Leave him... leave us alone!" Jack demanded.

The woman, Tiffany, laughed. "You shouldn't be making demands like that Mr. Kelly." She said, then became serious again. "I know he's here. Where is he?"

"Race." JoJo hissed. "Get outta here." Race looked up at him and shook his head.

"Cmon Race!" Albert whispered. "We can still get you out!"

"Then what huh?" Race asked, harshly, causing the boy in his lap to stir and open his sleepy eyes. "Ya can't stop her from comin' after me or any of you guys."

"Race..." Crutchie tried, begging his friend to listen to them by simply saying his name but Race wasn't listening. He gently lifted his kid brother's head off of his leg and let him sit up as he climbed over the side of the booth and grabbed his bag, telling himself to breathe. That it would all be ok. Just breathe.

"I already told ya, I ain't seen 'im." Jack tried again but he had no idea that Race was walking up behind him.

"I'm right here!" He called out, keeping it together for the sake of his brothers. They were all staring at him with wide eyes. Some of them had stood up, trying to go stop him but he wouldn't listen to them. "Ya don't need ta call anyone. Leave these guys alone, they ain't done nothin' to ya."

"Racetrack..." Jack warned, gently grabbing the boy's arms, pulling him back. "Don't do this."

"Anthony, let's go." The woman said shoving Jack away from Race. Race pulled back a little before looking around at his boys. He may not be Jack, but he protected them too. They were his brothers.

"Race!" Race's heart could've broken at the sadness in Romeo's voice as he let himself be dragged away by the woman. The boy tried to run up to him but Race twisted around as much as he could, as the woman refused to let go of his wrist.

"Romeo no! Stay there!" He ordered. This woman was the devil. He didn't want any of them near her.

Romeo almost ran further but Jack grabbed him and picked him up off the ground, making sure he didn't go near Tiffany. "It's ok kid." He promised. "You," he shouted at Tiffany. "If you touch 'im, you answer ta me!" The woman laughed once before walking out the door. It only gave Race a moment to glance back and look at Jack with the most desperate expression that Jack had even seen from the boy. Then he was gone.

Jack suddenly felt very helpless. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling when it came to Race. He was once again being dragged away, out of Jack's reach. Out of his circle of protection. And it terrified him.

"It'll be ok." Jack muttered to himself. "Just breathe."

 **As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Love ya babes! ;)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Alright. Here is the last chapter I'll be posting before my week of not being able to. :(. Sorry.**

 **However, I would still greatly appreciate your guys' reviews, questions and requests. I swear to you guys that I'll be writing while I'm away but I won't post until I'm back. I'd love to get some requests. Just give me a scene you guys would like to see or really any sort of suggestion and I'll do my best to work with it. Thank you!**

 **Be sure to check out all my other fics while! Also, I've been thinking about writing a Supergirl fic about hurt!Winn. Because I love Jeremy Jordan. Let me know if you guys like that show or would like to see that! Thank you!**

 **Enjoy!**

It was nine o'clock. It had only taken Jack and Davey two hours to convince the boys to go home. Eventually, Jack clocked out and David drove him and Crutchie home. They were on their way to the apartment when Jack decided speak up from the passenger seat.

"Go to Race's." He demanded. Davey looked over at him for a split second like he was crazy.

"What are ya, crazy?" He asked. "Did you hear that woman? She was threatening to mess with your guys' homes!" He yelled.

"What did she do ta him?" Crutchie's small voice met Jack's ears and he felt guilty for not being able to tell him. But all the images of Race struggling, trying to get away from that horror filled his mind and he shook his head, ignoring the question.

"Get over there Dave." Jack instructed. "I'm serious. I need to get him outta there!" He yelled. When Davey shook his head, Jack made a grab for the steering wheel.

"Jack?! What the hell?!" He shoved Jack back. "I know you think you can save him but you can't always protect him!"

The car got intensely quiet after Davey said that. Crutchie looked back and forth between the two boys, trying to figure out what to say, before Jack slammed his fist down on the dashboard. "Jack!" Crutchie screamed in surprise.

Davey sighed and glanced sideways at his friend. Jack looked torn between screaming or crying at the moment. He didn't blame him. One of his best friends was in trouble and he couldn't stop it. But he wouldn't stop without trying.

"Davey... I need ta get him out..." Jack's voice shook, unnaturally. His voice was foreign to even himself. "I can't let this happen again... not ta him..."

"What Jack?" Davey demanded. "What are they doing to him? Better yet, what proof do you have that they've actually done anything?"

"He told me Dave!" Jack screamed. "He let me hold 'im and he was crying so damn hard he could barely speak! He's hurt! She's doing awful things ta him! She's Drake!"

Crutchie flinched at that name. Drake had tried to touch him but never actually got close enough to do anything more than that. And Crutchie knew he was capable of doing much, much more. The worse part was, he had heard Race up with Jack, sobbing about Drake. He would pop up in Race's nightmares and haunt him all the time. They may have thought that Crutchie was asleep all those times Race sat up, in Jack's arms, sobbing, but he wasn't. He listened. He heard his older brothers crying at night. He knew what Drake did to Race.

"Davey, turn the car around." Crutchie demanded from the backseat.

Davey sighed. "Not you too Crutchie. You guys have to be realistic." The boy tried. But it didn't matter.

"No you gotta be realistic!" Jack yelled, not even realizing that tears were now streaming down his face. "I know your life ain't perfect either but you got no idea what we've been through!" He challenged. "What Race has been through..."

Davey flinched when Jack yelled. He knew that these boys had it rough but they might be overreacting without knowing all the facts first.

Crutchie tried to block out the shouting that was tearing him apart between his brother and one of his brother's closest friends. He didn't know how to tell Dave that Jack was right and he didn't know what they did.

"I can't leave him there! I promised him he wouldn't have ta go back!" Jack yelled. "He's scared Davey!"

"You don't know if he's scared for any good reason!" Dave shouted back. "If you go get him now, they'll only move him far away from you! Is that what you want?!"

"He has every reason to be terrified!"

"Is that what you want, Jack?!" Dave challenged him into silence for a moment. He knew it was a cruel scenario, but it was reality. She had threatened them with that and she could make it real all too quickly.

"They could find you." Jack winced. "They could find Crutchie." Crutchie flinched. "They could separate you two."

"I could get Race..." Jack tried, desperately. "We can run away. Never be found again. They won't hurt 'im anymore-"

"No Jack!" Davey yelled. "You can't just run away. You have to tell me what you're so scared of happening. Right now. Why is it so important for you to get to Race's right now?" He asked, stopping the car.

Jack sighed. He seemed to be thinking it over. After a moment he looked back and locked eyes with his little brother for a second. Then he looked back to Davey. "Get out of the car." He instructed, and Davey did.

Crutchie sighed. He watched as both of the older boys got out of the car, Jack slamming the door as he walked over to Davey, who was standing in front of the car. He saw the way Jack would whisper things to Davey, then how Davey paled more and more by the minute. Jack would occasionally look into the car at Crutchie and then readjust himself so that the younger boy couldn't see his lips.

After a minute, Jack's phone started ringing from inside the pocket of the boy's disregarded jacket that sat right in front of Crutchie. At first he just picked it up to see who it was that would be calling Jack at this time of the night, he didn't expect to answer it. But then he saw the name pop up on the small screen. "Racer". Then Crutchie didn't know what else to do but answer it. So he flipped open the phone and put it up to his ear.

"Race?" Crutchie asked, hesitantly, scared of what he might hear, hoping that what Jack was so afraid of happening, wasn't happening right now.

"C-Crutchie?" The younger blond boy never thought he would hear the boy that always protected him and made sure he felt safe, sound so petrified. Crutchie could hear the way Race had to force the words out of his mouth. It sounded like he'd been crying. Then Crutchie heard a bang on the other side of the call and Race gave out a startled cry. "Cr-Crutchie let me talk ta Jack." Race demanded in a terrified voice.

"Race-" Crutchie tried to comfort but Racetrack cut him off.

"No Crutchie! Let me talk to Jack!" He may have wanted it to sound like a demand but at this point he was begging his young best friend to give the phone to his older brother.

"Jack!" Crutchie called out to the boy. Immediately, Jack turned to him.

"What Crutch?" He asked, worriedly. "Everythin' ok?"

Crutchie shook his head and handed Jack the phone, which the older boy took and put up to his ear without even looking at it. "Hello?" He asked, not prepared for the panic on the other end of the line.

"Jack please help! He's about ta knock the goddamn door down!" Jack could hear the boy's quick breaths and sniffles. Race was hyperventilating.

"Racetrack calm down! What happened? Where are ya right now?" Jack looked up to meet Davey's eyes and the taller boy ran to the drivers seat as Jack jumped back into the passenger seat.

"I locked myself in the bathroom!" He screamed, urgently. "She did it again! I couldn't stop it Jack!" Race cried, letting out a startled scream as another loud bang was heard, as if someone was throwing themselves up against a door or a wall or something.

"Race breathe! It's gonna be ok. We're coming." He promised as the car began to move, faster than it had before but not quite fast enough for Jack. "Step on it Davey!" He begged, desperately. Then he heard Race's startled cry from the other side in response to, what sounded like, a punch on a door. "Kid just listen ta me, we're comin'. I promise we're comin'."

"Jack..." Race whispered, his voice cracking in desperation. "He's gonna kill me..."

Jack blinked back tears as his friend said this. This couldn't be happening right now. Not to Race. And then something happened. The other side of the line got deathly silent. After a moment Jack could hear the sound of his little brother's harsh breathing. "Race?" He asked, quietly. "Race what happened?"

"I don't know." Race whispered. "He just stopped-" There was the sound of a door being thrown open and Jack froze. Then there was the sound of the phone hitting the ground, flesh hitting flesh and a heart breaking scream. "Please! Stop! It ain't my fault!" The boy kept going as the man kept hitting and kicking and choking and even as Jack was screaming his name.

"Race!" He cried out. "Racetrack!" But all he heard was screaming. "Hey! Stop it! Please! Race!" It kept going. Ten minutes at least, but for Jack it felt like years. Then it stopped as suddenly as it began.

All Jack heard from the other end was the sound of a door slamming shut and harsh, uneven, painful breaths somewhere in the background. "Race?" No reply. "Racetrack?" Still nothing. "Race, answer me kid, please talk ta me."

Crutchie sat forward in his seat, listening to his older brother beg their best friend to answer him. The crippled boy gripped his crutch so tightly in his hand that his knuckles turned white. He knew they would get to Race. They had to. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he feared they would be too late.

 **I am so sorry that I'm leaving this off like this for the next week. I didn't realize that this was the story with so many cliffhangers. But I guess that'll give you guys a reason to check back in in a week!! ;)**

 **As always, thank you for reading! Even though I'll be gone, I'm still gonna try to check reviews and requests and even PMs. I'm always excited to write for you guys. So make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review. Thank you! Love you babes! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Omg!! Hi guys! I have so many reviews and requests and I'm so happy about it! Keep it up guys I love getting requests. As I said, I am on vacation. My family is camping at the beach but for the next few hours I'll be home so I decided I may as well answer some questions and respond to some requests. I have been reading all of them as often as I can and I really appreciate them! Thank you guys so much!**

 **bexlynne: My favorite scene from Newsies Live is a hard question. I love every second of it. But if I had to chose, it would probably be Seize the Day. It's just the most iconic song from the show and it's so powerful and amazing and I freaking love the dance to it. It's perfect. What's yours?**

 **Teeloganroryflan: Your request has been heard. I love it! I'm working on a oneshot right now with your scene and I really am enjoying it. Thank you so much! Keep up the requests!**

 **Fanz4life: I will say again, romance isn't quite my thing but I am going to do my best to add little snippets of it in these stories. In my other story, Working With What We Got, eventually there will be Jatherine but if you have a specific request for a oneshot or another story I would absolutely love I hear it!! I am working on a Jatherine story right now, it would be a Newsies/Annie crossover. I have the first chapter written. Say the word and I'll post it as soon as I can. Thank you so much for your reviews and requests!**

 **Fanz4life: I think I'm going to add a stressed out Jack Kelly in one of the next few chapters. I'll do my best! And wow, all of them would break that scale. Jeremy is like a twenty five, Andrew is like a fifty and then Ben is like a hundred. What about you?**

 **Fanz4life: Supergirl is freaking fantastic. I just finished season 2 and now I'm trying to catch up on the Flash and there's a musical episode crossover and I'm so excited! Anyways, if you've got any ideas for it, I'd love to hear it!**

 **For those of you guys who are waiting on my other story, I'm going to post another chapter after vacations done, but that story is not finished I have chapter 5 completely written but I only have a few paragraphs of chapter 6 done. So that one will start getting farther and farther apart probably because it's more detailed and it takes more creative juices for me to write. But please continue to read that one and review and motivate me to finish it! Thank you!**

 **I hope I answered all reviews and requests, if I didn't, feel free to just remind me. I promise I'll see it eventually. Thank you guys! Enjoy!**

Jack hit the ground running. The car hadn't even pulled to a complete stop before he yelled at Davey and Crutchie to stay in the car while he got Race out. Jack saw the kid's house and jumped out of the car, sprinting up the driveway to the front door, finding the key exactly where Race had said it would be when he had first been moved into this house. Hidden in a fake rock in the front garden. Jack unlocked the door and ran inside, immediately running around, trying to locate the bathroom that Race was in and avoiding the fighting foster parents upstairs all the while the phone was still up to Jack's ear as he whispered to his brother who wouldn't respond to him. "Hold on Race, I'm comin'. Just keep breathin'... please..."

After running around the downstairs for a while, Jack finally heard it. He put the phone down and heard the painful gasps of air that would be held for a second and let go in a whimper, like the kid was trying to breathe. He ran for it. He found where it was coming from. In the back of the house, just off the kitchen, was a door that was almost hidden in a dark hallway. Jack got up to it and quietly pushed it open. Then he saw him and couldn't stop his legs from rushing towards the smaller boy.

"Race!" He cried, dropping to his knees at Racetrack's side, placing one hand on his heaving chest and the other in his damp hair. The younger boy's left eye was completely swollen shut and his temple bled steadily. The bridge of his nose was split and blood seeped through his nostrils. There was a stream of red liquid flowing from his mouth from what Jack hoped was a simple bite of the tongue and not something far, far worse. Half of the kid's face was colored red from the liquid that should be running through his veins. His legs were sprawled out in front of him, one of them moving slowly, as if he was trying to keep himself awake. His once white t-shirt was covered in red splotches and Jack knew Race would be happy later that he wasn't wearing the sweatshirt Jack had given to him. One of the kid's hands was on his stomach, trying to protect it from being hurt more and the other was handcuffed to a handle above the bathtub. Race pulled at it weakly, trying to free himself. "Oh God, Racetrack." Jack breathed.

"J-... Jack?" Race whimpered in between gasps. His voice was scared and weak and it cracked with every word he spoke, but it was still heard.

"Yeah, yeah kid I'm right here." He soothed. After hearing his voice Race tried to sit up, crying out and gasping as sharp pains shot up through his body. Jack was sure he had some broken ribs. "No no no no no, Racer. Don't move, stay right there. We're gonna get ya help kid I promise."

Race continued to gasp as he spoke, "Not... a kid." He pulled at the cuffs that held his wrist again, praying it would just give away. "Ja-ack... please... get... get me out of here." He begged.

"Shush it's alright Race." Jack ran his hand through the younger boy's blond hair. Carefully, he moved away from the boy, his heart clenching when the boy let out a startled cry for him to come back. "Calm down, kid, I'm still here." He soothed as he moved over to where Race was handcuffed. He looked around for something to pick the lock with and his eyes landed on a hairpin on the counter.

"Ja-ack..." Jack heard Race call out, weakly. Jack kneeled down again and ran a hand through his brother's hair as the boy's eyes started to droop. "H...h-hurts..." Jack didn't even know he was crying until he saw one of his own tears land on Race's cheek.

"I know kid, I know." He whispered. He sniffled and cradled Race's cheek with his hand, rubbing his thumb under the boy's eye as he leaned into the touch. "But ya gotta listen ta me. Ya gotta stay awake." He instructed, trying not to sound panicked or desperate, for Race's sake. "We'll get ya to a hospital and you'll be ok, I promise."

Race didn't respond and Jack knew he had to get the kid out of there somehow, so he stood and began working the lock to the cuffs. He had to wipe at his eyes every few minutes, in order to be able to see through his frightened tears, but eventually, he got one side of the cuffs unlocked and Race's arm fell to the ground with a sharp cry of pain. Jack sighed in relief and kneeled down again to the fading boy.

"Race!" He whispered to the kid. Race's head was rolling around and his eyes would close and then open a few seconds later and the cycle would repeat. He needed a hospital. "Hey Racer! I need ya ta stay with me alright? I'm gonna get ya ta Dave and Crutchie and we're gonna get ya help. Just breathe."

But Race's eyes flew open at his friends' names. "N-no!" He forced out. "N-not... n-not Crutch-ie... h-he... he can't-t see m-me-" he broke into a coughing fit and Jack had to hold his shoulders down to make sure he didn't hurt himself. "Can't s-see me li-ike this..." he finished, coughing and stuttering as he spoke, none of his words connected as he was still gasping for the proper amount of air and whimpering as it was let out.

Jack sighed and, as gently as he possibly could, gathered Race up in his arms, his heart breaking when the boy cried out in pain but held fast to Jack's shirt when he tried to let go. Jack felt the younger teen practically melt into his embrace, laying his head down on Jack's shoulder and letting the tears fall freely. "Listen ta me Racer," he whispered in the boy's ear as he heard the argumentative foster parents getting closer to them, not to get Race, but just because they had apparently moved to the downstairs. "I know how hard it is ta let your little brothers see ya hurtin'... but Crutchie..." Jack's voice cracked with emotion as he looked at Race's face. It was almost unrecognizable. "Crutchie would rather see ya now... on your way ta the hospital... than later if ya-" Jack shook his head. How could he possibly say those last three words. But he knew that if he didn't get the boy there now, it was a real possibility. "If ya don't make it." Jack finally forced out.

Race looked up at his brother who, at the moment, looked more broken than he was. He knew why. Over the years, the boys were all each other had. They were closer than any family was to one another. And Race and Jack had been the first of them all. They couldn't loose each other. So Race nodded, ignoring the pain that even that simple motion took. "Don't talk l-like that Ja-Jackie-boy... I ain't n-neva goin' no where..." he whispered.

Jack gave Race a quick, brotherly kiss on the head before he he spoke. "I'm gettin' ya outta here." He promised, then he scooped the boy up in his arms as he stood, ignoring the blood that immediately seeped into his shirt and careful of the cuffs that still hugged one of the boy's wrists. "Just hold on, it'll be alright. Just please hold on."

 **This chapter broke my heart to write. I will just say that. Sadly I do love to torture Race. I don't know why. Anyways,**

 **Thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Love ya kids!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm ba-ack! Hey guys! I'm so sorry I was gone for so long but I had an awesome vacation and thank you guys so so much for reviewing for me and requesting! Please keep them coming! I'm working on requests right now. I didn't have as much time to write as I thought I would but I'll be uploading pleanty of things tonight probably.**

 **Teeloganroryflan: thank you for the request! It's not quite finished yet but I should have it finished by late tonight or tomorrow. I'm loving it so far! Keep the requests coming!**

 **Fanz4life: I think you'll especially be happy to know that I'm working on another Jatherine one-shot! It's cute and I love writing it. In the mean time, if you have a specific scene you want to see or anything in particular I'd absolutely love to hear them. Thank you!**

 **KatherineRoseTiggular: Stay tuned. I don't know how much Jatheirne there will be in this story, but in the next one, I literally just write a Jatherine scene. I've been trying to add more and more so tell me what you think of it when it comes. Also, I'd love a specific request if you want to see something in particular.**

 **sidenotes-from-satan: Omg I'm laughing! Thank you so much for stalking my profile, which I might be updating soon I you wanna check that out. I'm so glad you like my stories! I'd love to hear more of your feedback! Thank you!**

 **bexlynne: I'm so sorry for making you wait! But trust me, I gotta tell ya, if you think Race has it bad now, it's gonna get so much worse in the next story for this series. I feel as though I put him through too much but I don't know, I just have too much fun with this. Thank you for following along with my stories! I'd definitely have to say Jack/Katherine. Sorry to all of you Sarah fans, but I feel like her character had no significance. She was just kinda there cause they wanted to throw in a love interest. Katherine and Jack actually have more of a storyline and I overall like her character better. What about you? Also, I'd love to hear some requests from the master. I freaking love your stories! Thanks for reviewing!**

 **I think I'm gonna post the Newsies/Annie story tonight. Only the first chapter. Go check it out and let me know if I should continue it! Thanks!**

 **Alright guys, so if you like seeing these types of stories where Race gets tortured, let me know, I have plenty of ideas for more. These are my guilty pleasure but I swear I'm actually a pretty okay person.**

 **Here's the next heartbreaking chapter. Enjoy!**

Finally he made it back out to the car. He had stopped for a moment inside to hear the man, clearly drunk, screaming at the woman for cheating on him and he heard the woman yelling back that it had been Race's fault. That he was a bad kid. And it made Jack sick. But he kept going, ignoring how angry he was at these people and focusing on the fact that Race needed medical attention. Davey had jumped out immediately when he saw Jack running with Race in his arms. He opened the back door and Jack slid the boy in, gently laying his almost limp head in Crutchie's lap.

"Race..." the boy whispered. Race opened his one eye that wasn't swollen and saw his worried little brother hovering over him, but before he could tell him he was alright, he broke into a coughing fit. He vaguely heard Jack instruct Crutchie to hold him down while he was wheezing, desperately trying to get air to fill his lungs before he felt liquid meet his lips. It had a metallic taste and it was sticky and warm.

"Jack!" Crutchie cried as he saw the red substance that Race had started to cough up. Jack had just gotten into the car, along with Davey when Crutchie yelled. When he turned back, his heart stopped for a moment. Race was desperate for air, gasping and clawing at his own throat.

"Go Davey!" Jack screamed as he reached back and grabbed his brother's hand. "It's gonna be ok Race. I promise... you'll be ok."

Crutchie ran a hand through the boy's damp hair and leaned down, whispering words of comfort into his older brother's ear. Race clutched Jack's hand tight, the cuffs dangling around as he did, and his other searched for Crutchie's free hand. He grabbed their hands, trying so hard to stay awake and to just breathe.

Davey didn't even know how fast he was going. All he knew was he had to be fast enough because if he didn't go fast enough then Race would pay the price. The poor boy was weakly coughing and his breaths were becoming so much more uneven and hard.

Crutchie watched as Race's one eye started to fall shut and he shook the older teen's hand. "Race ya gotta stay awake!" He yelled, looking to Jack for help.

"Racetrack cmon!" Jack tried. "Ya gotta stay awake! Do it for us! Please kid we need ya!"

Davey couldn't be more relieved to see the bright white hospital building. He turned into the parking lot and Jack jumped out, followed by Dave. Crutchie stayed put, silently watching his older brother pull their best friend, their brother, off of him and out of the car. He gasped and lightly whimpered in Jack's arms but let himself be rushed inside.

Jack stepped passed Davey who was holding the door open and immediately started screaming. "Help!" He cried. "Someone help! He can't breathe right!" Everyone was staring but Jack didn't care.

Race buried himself further into Jack, not liking all the attention that was on them. He heard a stretcher being wheeled up and a woman asked, "how did this happen?" But there was no answer. All Race knew was two pairs of arms were on him, trying to pull him away from Jack, and he wasn't liking the idea.

"Ja-ack!" He screamed, his voice breaking as he latched to Jack's shirt.

Jack couldn't help but step back as an instinct as the two male nurses grabbed at Race. But he took a breath and walked up to the stretcher. He gently laid Race down and the boy reluctantly let him go, or so they thought before Race grabbed his hand and refused to let go.

"D-don't leave m-me, Jack..."

Jack let the tears fall freely at that moment. He leaned down and kissed the smaller boy's forehead, letting his rest there afterwards. "It'll be ok Racer. These people are gonna help ya." Jack whispered.

"What's his name?" The woman asked as she moved around Jack, trying her best to assess the injuries.

"Anthony Higgins." Jack answered. "But we all call him Race."

"How did this happen?" One of the men asked, gently trying to get Race to let go of Jack. But the boy still wouldn't.

"He-" Jack started but was cut off. Cut off by someone that Jack could barely find the strength to look at. Someone who Jack wished he could unleash hell on.

"Anthony?!" Jack felt Race's hand tighten on his and he looked at the nurses with pleading eyes. The one man that hadn't spoke yet, the one was had started hooking Race up to a machine, locked eyes with Jack's desperate ones. He seemed to immediately understand what Jack was trying to convey through one glance. The man moved over to the woman that had cried out.

"Excuse me ma'am." He said, rudely, making the other two nurses working on Race look up and see him crossing his arms in front of the couple that stood in the doorway. "But are you immediate family?"

"That's our foster son!" The man yelled, pretending to be concerned and making Jack sick. "He didn't come home today and we've been trying to get ahold of him but he we couldn't and so my wife suggested we check here and... is he ok?" To most people, that man would look really concerned. But to that nurse, he looked like a man using an innocent, defenseless kid to get a little extra cash.

The male nurse looked back at his coworkers and nodded. The two nodded at the man and then nodded at Jack. "We'll take care of him." The woman promised. Race mumbled a protest but was beginning to be too weak to keep holding on to Jack. His hand was loosing its grip. But the boy kept trying to stay with Jack. Jack finally had to lean down and whisper to him.

"Hey kid," he started, his voice shaking as he tried to convince Race and himself that it would all be ok. "These people," he nodded towards the three people that were helping him, "they're good people. They're gonna take care of you. They aren't like Tiffany or her husband. They're gonna fix you up." He whispered, running a hand through Race's hair and wiping the tears away from the boy's cheek. "I ain't goin' anywhere. I'll be there when ya wake up ok? Crutchie and Dave will be with me. Just trust me."

Race looked at him like he was trying to decide weather or not he should believe Jack in that moment. And then, after a moment, let his hand slip from Jack's. Then the two nurses started wheeling Race away and Jack was about to run after them when he felt two strong arms wrap around him. When he realized it was Dave, he let himself be stopped by the other boy. Jack was in no state to fight him. So he turned into Davey and cried against the younger boy's shoulder. When he looked up, he saw Crutchie's face, soaked with tears, looking back at him from the car.

The blond boy shook his head and slowly got out of the car, making his way to Jack. When he got there, his brother let go of Davey and latched onto him. He tried desperately to get the images of Race gasping for air, not being able to move, out of his mind but he couldn't. He was in such a state of despair that he didn't even notice Davey pull out his phone and dial a number.

"I don't know what these boys have told you but that's our son!" The man said, stepping in front of his wife and fighting with the nurse that sent Race to get help. "We're trying to adopt him! And these kids... they're not good for him. They're putting ridiculous thoughts in his head and I don't want you to let them back there. I don't want these boys anywhere near Anthony." The man demanded and Jack almost lost it.

Jack tried to stand, about to start screaming at the man, but Crutchie held him back. He stood on one leg, bringing his crutch up as well, letting it support him because so long ago Jack had told him that there was nothing wrong with that. There was nothing wrong with him.

The boy limped up to the couple and the nurse, an angry look on his face. "Excuse me sir," he started, addressing the nurse. "My friend had a pair of handcuffs on his wrist when we got to him. They have to have a fingerprint somewhere on them." He said, not looking over at the evil couple once. "And... if I may say... our big brother, Jack, was on the phone with Race as he was being attacked. He heard their voice. He can identify who it was and once you get the print, we'll have proof."

The nurse nodded and put a comforting hand on Crutchie's shoulder but the man was not happy about this. "Really?! You're gonna listen to some, stupid kid?!"

"Hey!" Jack yelled standing up, Davey at his side in an instant. "That's my brother! And so's Race! You hurt him! And I can testify ta that!" Jack looked more angry than he ever had in his life. "He called me on the phone. Screamin', scared outta his mind because of you two. If you hurt him again-"

"Jack!" Davey cut off the other boy, as he'd just finished a phone call. "Calm down. Race will be ok."

Jack turned back but did not look at Davey. He looked at the ground. Then he forced himself to walk away, his brothers not far behind. They dragged themselves to the waiting room as the nurse shooed out the foster parents that Jack hoped he'd never see again. But they wouldn't leave.

"I could have him arrested for trespassing on my private property." The woman yelled pointing at Jack.

"Are you admitting to harming an innocent foster kid?" A familiar, female voice spoke and Jack's eyes lifted at that.

"Medda!" Crutchie sighed with relief as the limped back over to the woman, falling into her embrace. Jack just sat on the edge of his chair, waiting for her to come over to him. First, he looked at Davey.

"Thank you." He muttered, gratefully.

"I knew you needed her." Davey responded, patting Jack on the back. "She can help ya more than we can." Jack nodded in agreement.

"And," Medda continued, even with the fourteen year old boy in her arms. "As I was told, you had no idea where your foster son was and came here looking for him. Why would my Jack be trespassing if he found Race somewhere else?"

The couple stuttered and looked like two deer caught in the headlights. The nurse smiled and nodded to Medda who did the same back, before the two foster parents stormed out of the room.

"Hold on, Race..." Jack whispered as he fell into Medda's open arms. "Just keep breathin'."

 **Alright guys, so I've recently been surrounded by pleanty of people who are down in the dumps. They're focusing on things in their lives that are going wrong and they forget about things that are going right. So I'm just sending out a reminder to look around and smile at little things. Even if it's just hope for the future. I promise things get better no matter what the situation. Stand on your own two feet and appreciate the strength you carry, go be yourself and be happy with it because everyone is perfect in their own ways. Thank you guys!**

 **As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Love ya guys!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello guys! I hope you're all having a great day! Thank you for stopping by and reading my next chapter!**

 **queenlmno: Omg, I just read your reviews for my first story and I have to ask, did you really cry??? Haha I mean, pssshh, that wasn't the what I wanted. Psssh. But haha thank you for reading my stories!! And hon, I know how you feel but we both know we need to stop trying to cover up the fact the we need hurt!Race in our lives. And it's only gonna get worse from here. If you want me to tell you a little bit about what happens in the next story or about another hurt!Race fic that I'm gonna start working on, let me know. Thank you so much for reviewing!**

 **KatherineRoseTiggular: I do watch tv series. A lot of them. I can list a few. Some of these no longer run but I still love em. Psych, Burn Notice, Supergirl, The Flash, Shadowhunters, Beyond, Timeless, Once Upon a Time, White Collar, How I Met Your Mother, Boy Meets World, The Office, Leverage, NCIS (not as much anymore) but yeah. There are so many other ones too. Thank you for the question!**

 **Teeloganroryflan: I have finished the one-shot you've requested and it's really sweet. It's not very long but it's a nice little story. Keep up the requests! I'll be posting that one a little later. It's going to be called A Brother's Fight.**

 **Make sure to go check out my story called Still Callin' You Baby. Tell me what you think and if I should continue it or not! Thank you!**

 **And here's the next heart wrenching chapter. Enjoy!**

Medda looked over her boys. Davey sat in a chair opposite of them, his hand holding up his cheek as he nodded off. He sat completely upright in the chair with his legs stretched out in front of him, uncomfortably. He snored lightly as he drifted off. Medda smiled at him and then looked down at the two others.

Jack was sitting next to her. His head rested below her shoulder on her arm and his body lay out on the bench on her left. His right leg was stretched out in front of him and his left was bent, hitting the wall and popping out from beneath his best friend who lay on his lap. Medda had her arm around Jack and was playing with his hair as she watched them both.

Crutchie was curled up in his big brother's lap. His crutch lay on the ground, parallel to the bench. The boy's knees were pulled up to his chest and his head rested on Jack's chest, his ear right over his big brother's heart. He lay with Medda's sweatshirt draped over him, as he had been cold earlier. Jack's hand lay in his brother's messy hair as they both slept, not by choice, but by pure exhaustion.

These poor boys. Jack had had a small panic attack after they rolled Race away...

 _Davey had tried to get Jack's attention. "Jack, Race will be ok." But the older boy wasn't listening. He saw the blood all over himself and he wouldn't move from his spot. "Jack." Davey tried again, moving back towards the boy and trying to grab his arm right before he moved away and dodged it._

 _"No!" Jack yelled. "No." He looked around like he was trying to understand what was happening. The stress of the situation, no doubt, taking over his emotions and his mind. "I gotta get ta Race." He made a move to step forward but Davey caught him around the waist._

 _"Jack stop it!" He cried pushing the boy back as he tried to run in the direction that his brother had been rolled off in. "Race will be ok!"_

 _"You don't know that, Davey!" Jack screamed back. He didn't even notice Medda with her arms around Crutchie, watching, heartbroken at Jack's outburst. "You don't know what he's been through!" The strike leader argued. "You may sit around with us, acting like you're just like us but you've got no idea what we go through everyday!" As Davey tried to interrupt, his features showing his hurt, Jack shook his head and started yelling again. "I have been slaving away my whole life for my boys. I've given up food and sleep and water and anything for them because I know what they go through everyday! Compared to us your life is a goddamn cake walk!"_

 _"Jack stop!" Crutchie yelled from the side of them. He limped over to his brother, stepping in between the two boys. "You're panickin'." He explained calmly as he moved closer to the older boy and wiped the tears from his face. "Race ain't goin' anywhere. He's too tough for that. He's gonna be fine. And Davey is just tryin' ta help." He soothed, as calmly as he could._

After a while, Davey and Jack had apologized to each other, Jack more so sorry to Davey for taking out his panic and worry on him.

Medda looked down at her boys, smiling at them, but something else tugged at her heart. The boy that they were waiting on. According to a panicked Jack, it had been bad. Race had been coughing up blood and could barely breathe, let alone move on his own. She wanted to help that boy so bad. He'd been through so much and deserved far better.

After a few hours, the male nurse walked into the room, the one that had been holding off the foster parents. Medda had found out his name was James, but everyone called him Stitch. He explained to her, before going back to work, that his was a similar story to all her boys. He was bounced around in foster homes around New York, even went to The World and that's how he knew that Race was in trouble. He knew a boy who needed help when he saw one.

When he spotted the boys and Medda he smiled at them and walked over. As gently as he could, he kneeled down next to a sleeping Davey and spoke. "Race is doing well." He whispered, not expecting Jack to stir at the soft voice. He laughed a bit at that, but continued on, more seriously. "He's gonna be sore for a while but he'll be ok."

"Thank you so much." Medda held out her hand and he took it, smiling as she gave his a slight squeeze in gratitude.

Jack's eyes slowly slid open and it took him a moment to realize he wasn't waking up in his crummy apartment. He was in the hospital... waiting for...

"Race?" He asked, trying to sit up, but quickly realizing there was a weight in his chest.

"Careful kid," Stitch smiled. "He's ok." He assured, patting Jack on the arm. "Lucky he got here when he did."

Jack nodded and gently sat up, bringing Crutchie along with him. "Can I see him?" Jack asked, his voice tired and shaky.

The nurse nodded and watched as the boy gently moved his little brother off of him and laid him back down so he was leaning on Medda. "He's been asking for you. Jack right?" Jack nodded at his name and stood up straight, ready to follow the kind man back to Race.

He followed the man anxiously, wanting so desperately to just pull Race into his arms and comfort the boy, who he knew must be terrified. Right now he was in a room alone, a private room, compliments of Miss Medda Larkin. Jack had tried to tell her Race wouldn't want to be a burden but she didn't listen. He was lead back and into a room. There he saw his friend.

"He has an oxygen mask on." The man informed. "He woke up a few minutes ago and had a panic attack. He was having trouble breathing." Jack nodded, mutely and stepped into the room.

Race's eyes were closed. One was still swollen shut completely but the blood around it had been removed. In fact, Race's whole face had been cleared of the deep red substance that had taken it over before. Now Jack could clearly see his upper lip was swollen and the small gash on his nose from below the mask. He could see every bruise, every cut, but he could also see Race.

Jack nodded at the nurse and thanked him before he turned and left. Then, the boy sat down next to his friend, grabbing hold of the kid's hand, the one that wasn't wrapped in a cast that ended just below his elbow. His face showed no emotion till he heard the door shut. After that, the quiet sobs started.

Race, his best friend, his oldest friend, his brother that he promised so long ago that he would protect, the brother that he had entrusted Crutchie's life with multiple times, was lying in a hospital bed, hurt, scared and barely making it through with his life. And Jack couldn't do anything to stop it. He couldn't protect Race. And who knew what would happen next.

Jack wiped at his tears and rested his head down on the side of the thin mattress. He never let go of his friend's hand. He simply sat there, in the silence, waiting for Race to wake up.

At some point, he must've fallen asleep again, but when he felt a squeeze of his hand, his head shot up to get a good look at his friend. Race's eyes were squeezed tight with pain and his body was struggling to move around. When he tried to speak and realized that something was over his mouth, he panicked. His eyes shot open and he wiggled around, crying out in pain when he tried to move his broken arm. Immediately, Jack jumped to his feet, holding Race's hand in one of his, and stroking the boy's forehead with the other.

"Hey!" He called down to the kid. "Hey Race it's alright!" Race tried to struggle out of his grip but Jack wouldn't let him. He held the blond boy down, hating the way that Race fought and screamed and cried. Finally Race gave up and, completely defeated, let his body sink into the stiff hospital bed, letting tears fall down his cheeks, brokenly, and sniffling, trying to understand what was happening.

Jack watched as his baby brother's, bright, blue eyes swam in his tears as he looked up at the older boy for help. Jack just leaned down and whispered to his terrified friend. "I'm here Racer. Just take a deep breath. You're safe now."

Race blinked, trying desperately to recall what happened. All he knew was that if Jack was here, he was safe. And Jack was here. So he could breathe. His whole body still ached, however. He felt like he'd been hit with a truck. So through whatever was covering his mouth and nose he spoke, "Jack... what happened...? Where's Crutch?"

Jack squinted as he tried to decipher his brother's words. But eventually he raised his eyebrows in understanding. "Um... Race..." Jack started, hating the way his voice cracked as he recalled every moment of what had happened. "Last night, ya called me on the phone... you was hurt. You're foster dad... he was beatin' ya... and then I found ya on the ground... ya was hardly breathin'..." Jack whispered towards the end, finding the memory hard to think about, but knowing it would forever be engraved in his mind. "Crutchie's real worried about ya... Davey too..."

Race gave his brother's hand a squeeze as he saw the emotion on the other boys face. He wasn't used to Jack showing so much emotion. But whenever he did, it was always for him or Crutchie.

Speaking of Crutchie, the two boys looked up as the door to the room creaked open. There was the distinct sound of metal hitting the floor followed by a footstep and Race immediately let go of Jack's hand and took off the mask on his, holding it below his chin.

Crutchie poked his head into the room, smiling when he saw Race. "Hiya Race!" He said cheerfully. He limped over to the chair on the other side of Racetrack's bed and sat down, leaning towards his friend, his big brother. "You look lovely." He kid, his smile widening when Race chuckled and reached with his free hand to ruffle the boy's hair.

"Not so bad yourself..." Race rasped, his voice sounded dry and Jack immediately stood up to grab him some water from the other side of the room.

Race really looked at Crutchie. He looked like he'd been sleeping only moments ago but had woken up in some sort of panic. His blond hair was a mess atop his head and he had darker than normal circles underneath his innocent eyes. He sat as close to the bed as he could.

Jack sat back down and handed Race the cup of water, which Race took gratefully. He started gulping it down so fast, resulting in him coughing some of it up. "Whoa Racer," Jack smiled taking the water back. "Slow down, don't make yourself sick." He set down the cup and rested his hand on Race's forehead, rubbing his thumb back and forth across the boy's sweaty skin.

Race closed his eyes. He took in the presence of his two brothers. He was safe because Jack and Crutchie were here. The youngest boy in the room rested a hand on his injured brother's shoulder and the three just sat in silence, thanking God they were all still there, together, breathing. Then a knock came on the door.

Stitch and the other male nurse came into the room. "Hey guys." Stitch said quietly. They made it into the room and stood at the end of the hospital bed. "This is Kenny but everyone calls him Bones because when we were growing up, he broke so many bones that we couldn't keep up." Stitch laughed, ruffling the other man's, Bones's, dark brown hair as the man ducked out of his reach, laughing.

Jack smiled at them. They looked like him and his boys. But then the two men looked at them with a sort of sadness in his eyes. And Jack got a very bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"What's up guys?" Crutchie asked, also noting the way their laughter died down so suddenly.

"Fellas," Bones spoke, not able to look at them. "We have some bad news..." the boys all tensed up when they heard this, but Bones continued, "legally, we have to report this. And once we do that, there's no guarantee that the system will keep Race in Manhattan." He explained. "I've been through this before where they didn't let the kid stay in the same state to try and protect them from the abusive foster parents."

Immediately, Crutchie started shaking his head. "No." He said, determined that this wasn't real. "No, they ain't takin' Race away from us." Race was their brother. When Jack had gone off to the Refuge all those times, Race had been the one that had taken care of him. Race was the one that held him when he couldn't sleep at night or rubbed his back when he cried. And when Jack was there, Race was still the one to force Crutchie on his back when he wasn't walking right, or to give up his lunch when he knew that Jack hadn't made enough to get them some decent food. Crutchie needed Race as much as he needed Jack. "They ain't taken away our brother."

"Crutchie-" Race tried to calm him down, reaching his free hand up over his chest, with difficulty, to grab the younger boy's hand that rested on his shoulder. But the fourteen year old cut him off.

"No Race!" Crutchie yelled and Jack stood trying to form words to calm him but he kept going, even when the two nurses tried to speak. "No! I need you Race!" The words came out so fast. And Crutchie lost it. The tears started falling. He couldn't lose his brother.

Jack got up and went to the other side of the bed, kneeling down between his brothers, taking Crutchie into his arms and rubbing his back as he tried to hold back his own tears.

"Sorry boys, but once we call this in, social services will be here to take him and they'll probably keep in the Refuge for a little b-" Stitch tried to explain but this time, it was level headed Jack who cut him off.

"The Refuge?" He asked, outraged and he looked over to see Race's face full of panic. "No! He's not goin' there! He ain't eva' gonna step foot inside there again! Neva' ya hear me?!"

"There's nothing we can do." Bones said, clearly feeling sorry for these poor boys. "Social services will be here soon." Then he and Stitch walked to the door, before they heard Race start quietly sobbing.

Stitch turned and said all he could say. "We're sorry boys. So sorry." And then they were gone, leaving three terrified boys behind them.

 **Please please please be sure to check out all my other fics! Let me know if you have any questions or requests! I love them!**

 **As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change and what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Love ya babes!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello again guys! I'm hoping you guys like this story so far, but it would really help if you guys reviewed! I love hearing feedback and suggestions from you guys! So thank you to Teeloganroryflan for reviewing every story I've updated so far! You are fantastic and I'm so so happy you liked A Brother's Fight. It was so much fun to write and it really warmed my heart.**

 **For everyone else, please make sure to go check that one out, it's got a lot of guilty!Race and sick!Crutchie. It's a sweet story. And if you have any more requests I love them! Give me some characters or a scene or both and I'll do my best to bring it to life for ya! Thank you!**

 **I'll tell ya now, I don't mind if you go review my previous, completed stories. I don't even care how long it's been posted, I still love to hear what you guys have to say about it. Thank you!**

 **Enjoy!**

Jack knew Davey had called the boys, telling them that Race had gotten hurt. He of course didn't tell them how, it was a compromise of sorts. Race didn't want his boys to be told at all that he was in the hospital. Now he was hearing from Davey, that had poked his head into the quiet room, that all of the boys were in the waiting room. They'd been there for a half an hour and Jack told Dave to tell them that Race was sleeping and he'd get them when the boy woke up. He could imagine what it looked like out there. All his boys, laying across each other, some sitting awake worrying, probably Albert, JoJo and Romeo. The poor kids. But then he looked up from the ground and remembered why he hadn't let them all come in, immediately.

Race still lay on his back, his eyes closed but faint tear tracks were still shining on his young face. He was still so young and, despite everything he'd been through, he still had a bit of his boyish innocence left. The mask had to be replaced on his face, due to the fact that he had been hyperventilating. The poor kid was scared to death of what would happen next. Ever since they were only six and seven they'd had each other and no one else. And Race was about to be taken away.

On the same bed, Crutchie lay silently, totally asleep, curled up at Racetrack's side. The boy had fallen asleep before Race and Race had told Jack to move him so he'd be more comfortable. So Jack had lifted his brother up in his arms and gently laid him next to their injured friend and Crutchie immediately curled into Race's side. The older boy wrapped his uninjured arm around the younger and let him rest his head on his chest. The two boys slept peacefully at each other's side and Jack didn't want all the others to come in and see and wake up his two brothers.

So he sat awake, looking over them like he'd always done. When Race started whining in his sleep Jack moved over to the boy's left and ran a hand through his hair to calm him down. When Crutchie started shivering, Jack wrapped his sweatshirt around him. And when Race once again woke up in a panic, causing Crutchie to stir, Jack was still there to tell him he was safe.

Now, the two boys sat awake. Jack was telling him that all the boys were there when Medda walked in. She walked into the room and patted Jack on the shoulder before pulling up a chair beside him and speaking gently to Race, placing a comforting hand on the boy's left knee. "How are ya doin', baby?" She asked, her gentle smile never leaving her face.

Race smiled at her and let Jack remove his breathing mask, taking it all the way off this time. "I've been a bit better Miss Medda." The woman nodded and reached a hand up to play with the boy's hair, noticing Crutchie snuggle closer to the kid. She smiled.

"I know, sweetheart. I know." She nodded and then her smile slowly faded and she looked very serious. "Stitch told me about what was happening." She explained and Race's smile immediately fell. "Said social services would be here later to talk ta ya."

Race nodded and hugged his little brother closer to him. Then, he whispered in a very small voice, "I'm scared, Medda... I can't leave... I'm scared..." He sniffled.

Medda shushed him and Jack patted his leg. "Race ya know I ain't gonna let that happen." Jack promised.

"Baby, everything's gonna be alright." Medda smiled. "I promise." Race nodded and then the door opened once more.

JoJo was the first one to enter. Then came Albert and Specs and Henry and Elmer and Romeo and all the others, Davey being the last. JoJo ran up and almost threw himself at Race before remembering that the boy was really hurt and that Crutchie was still asleep on top of him. Race seemed to notice his hesitation and smiled. "It's ok Joey." Race assured, using the nickname that only he used with JoJo. He'd called him that since they were ten years old. "Come here." He waved with his broken arm as best as he could and JoJo slid past Jack and Medda and leaned down to give Race an awkward hug. It was the best they could do with another boy laying his head on Race's chest. "I'm sorry." He apologized. "I was a jerk yesterday and I'm sorry."

"It ain't your fault Race." JoJo said and pulled away.

"Yeah." Albert agreed, placing his hand on JoJo's shoulder. "What happened anyways?"

"Albert..." Jack warned. And nodded his head for him to leave Race alone as he saw Race tense up at the thought of what has happened.

After that, all the boys went up to Race, squeezing his shoulder, ruffling his hair or giving him as much of a hug as they could. When all of them had, a lot of them sat around, nodding off, joking with each other, some even played cards. Eventually, even Crutchie woke up and joined them.

But then the time came. The door opened and Race froze. It was social services. He grabbed Jack's hand and squeezed it tight. A while ago, the boy had moved back to his right side and fallen asleep even with all of the noise in the room. Immediately, Jack's head shot up and he looked to the door and saw a woman walk in. She was dressed in a grey suit and her raven hair was pulled back in a low bun. She wasn't very tall but, hell, she was intimidating. When she looked at Race, there wasn't even a spec of sympathy on her cold features.

"Can I speak with Anthony please?" She asked, silently and harshly, asking all the other boys in the room to get out. When no one moved, she rudely pointed to the door. But Race shook his head.

"No." He spoke, sternly, looking around at his brothers, who had all started to get up. "Ya ain't kickin' them out..." his voice was still weak, but there was determination laced in it.

The woman sighed in annoyance and stepped closer to him. "Fine. I'm your social worker for now." She explained, quickly. "Here's what's gonna happen, you're gonna spend a week in the Refuge while we figure out somewhere to put you. You will be going out of state if we can't find anyone who wants to hold you within five miles of your school because the system's not sure if being in New York is good for you anymore." As she spoke, every boy in the room went pale. Jack stood up and was about to protest but a sweet, calming, yet angry voice cut him off.

"Well honey, I've never heard anythin' more cruel." Miss Medda Larkin was only getting started. She stood and stepped towards the woman and the smaller woman took a step back. "Now see here, I have been fostering these two boys," She gestured to Jack and Crutchie, "for the past few years. There is always room in my house for another."

Jack looked back at her, shocked at what he was hearing. Medda didn't foster him and Crutchie. Sometimes they'd stay with her, when the apartment was too cold, but they'd never actually made that official. But Medda just smiled at him and winked before continuing.

"I've known Racetrack since he was about seven years old. I would be happy to take him in. No need for a stay at that hell you call a Refuge. He'll be comin' home with me." She stated.

The woman looked at her, appalled at how this woman had just spoke to her. "I'm sorry Ma'am." She scoffed and stepped to Medda. "You can't just demand to have this child. Let me do my job."

"You let me do mine!" In all the years that the boy's had known Medda, Jack especially, the woman had never once raised her voice in anger. Sure, she got angry, irritated at times, but she never took it out on anyone. Never yelled, and this was just something else. Jack watched in amazement as Medda fought for her boys. "I have known these boys since they were too young to understand the rest of the world! I've held them when they cried, and sung them a lullaby when the poor babies couldn't fall asleep and I've done everything in my power to make them feel loved." She explained angrily. "Now I'm gonna do what I need to do to keep them safe. Even if that means removing you from the picture entirely and honey you do not want to meet my lawyers."

Throughout all of this, Race sat there in shock. Medda was fighting. For him. Of all the people in the world she could unleash her anger and protectiveness for, she chose him. But he felt compelled to stop her anyways.

"Medda-" He tried, not wanting her to waste all of this on him. After all, what was he worth? Sometimes he thought they'd be better without him. No more having to grab him before he got in a fight, no more getting more homework because he could shut his big mouth, no more midnight calls from a terrified sixteen year old who'd woken up from a nightmare. No more Race. But he was cut short.

"Racetrack Higgins," Medda cut off the weak boy who was trying so desperately to tell her it was ok, but she wouldn't have it. "I have made the mistake of letting them take you through too many of these foster homes. You have had it bad, honey, and I'm not gonna let it continue." She walked over and ran a hand through the boy's hair before wiping away the tears that were gathering in his eyes as he realized that he had someone to take care of him.

Then Medda looked back at the social worker who stood there, still a little bit shocked. "He's coming home with me." She placed her hands on her hips and glared at the woman. "And if you try to take any of these boys away from their family, you'll have me to deal with. Now exit this private room and tell the system that Racetrack Higgins has a foster parent."

The woman stood, her mouth opened, trying to find words to shoot back at Medda but found herself unable. So Medda smiled her terrific smile and lifted up her hands, motioning towards the door. "Why are you still standin' here, honey? Shoo!" And the woman left in a hurry, leaving all the teenage boys behind her, snickering and chuckling at her comedic loss for words.

After the door shut, there were rounds of congratulations to Medda and some to Race. But Race still lay still, holding onto Jack's hand, confused at to why this woman was doing this for him, so she sat down and explained.

"When Jack and Crutchie refused my help I convinced the system that I had taken them both into my care, after all I look out for you boys as much as I can." She started, smiling down at the blond. "Now I have the chance to take care of you. I don't know what I'd do without my boys and right now, they need me." She said.

"Thanks Medda..." Race slurred as his eyelids grew heavy. "But ya didn't have ta-"

"Shush..." Medda smiled, running a hand through young boy's hair again. "Get some rest, baby. Everything will be alright." She promised, looking around at all the boys, lighting up inside when they all smiled at her and nodded.

Race nodded and looked over at Jack and Crutchie who stood to his right. Jack was still holding his hand and Crutchie had a hand on his shoulder. "Love you..." and then it seemed he'd passed out.

Crutchie turned and looked at his older brother. The seventeen year old had a look of pure shock on his face. Sure, they all loved each other, they were brothers for God sake, but Race had never said that to him before. So Crutchie chuckled and put a hand on his shoulder as well.

"It's ok Jack." Crutchie whispered. "Just breathe."

And Jack nodded, laughing a bit at his own surprise. Then he looked at his boys and then up at the only clock in the room. And as he was about to tell them it was time to get out and get some rest and see Race tomorrow, the door quietly swung open, making all the boys stare up at the person walking in. The person no one excepted to see there.

"What's the matter with ya?" The boy asked, looking around at all the Manhattan kids in the room. He was shorter than everyone would expect him to be but man was he intimidating. He looked like he could stop a bus with his bare hands, he was so strong. His red and blue striped muscle shirt made him look even more ripped. He watched as all the boys except the oldest stared in intimidation, waiting for him to do something. So he continued to speak. "It's like ya've never seen the king of Brooklyn before."

 **If this doesn't get you excited, I don't know what will. I honestly didn't know I was gonna put this in here until like now. But if you watch the movie, Race and Spot already kinda know each other pretty well. In fact, the first fic I ever wrote ( I was like thirteen) was about Jack and Race and Spot. It's terribly written and doesn't make a lot of sense but it made my little thirteen year old life.**

 **Make sure to go check out my new one-shot and my other stories. Comment on them if you guys want more of them. You guys motivate me to write more of the same story! I've always had hard times finishing then but for you guys I do. So there.**

 **As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change and what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Love ya babes!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys! I miss you all! Where did you all go? I miss having your feedback, questions and requests. :(. Well anyways, thank you so much to Teeloganroryflan for continuing to review my stories! I love you so much!**

 **I'm always in the mood for some requests. I'm working on another Jatherine one-shot, I don't know when it will be finished but let me know what you guys think of that! Also, I'm very excited for the next story in this universe! It gets intense but vulnerable!Race is like my favorite thing to write along with a lot of hurt!Crutchie. If you're excited, let me know in the comments!**

 **I'm thinking about writing a fic where Race legit gets tortured. It would be set in the right time, right after the strike probably. Let me know if you think I should write it! Thanks guys!**

 **Enjoy!**

"Hey Spot." Jack smirked, as if he'd known this was coming. The other boy smirked at him and then at all the other boys in the room. "What brings you here?" He asked, as if he didn't know.

Spot actually smiled at that. "A little birdie told me an old friend of mine was in trouble. And I protect my friends, Kelly. Same as you."

"Thanks for comin', Spot." Jack smiled.

"You and Race were friends?" A young boy asked from behind them. Spot turned to be met with a young boy, maybe twelve years old, standing with Albert's arms around him. His dark brown hair was in his eyes as he stood waiting for an answer.

Despite what everyone thought of the famous Spot Conlon, the toughest boy in all New York, he had people he held close. He kept people from his childhood by his side as much as he could. Spot Conlon had a heart. So he kneeled down, noting to himself that Race was asleep and he had some time to kill before he got to slap him in the head for scaring him. He gently placed his hands on the kid's shoulder. "Are you tellin' me, Race never told ya about me and him?" He laughed as the young boy shook his head. "I was the first person he told about his cigars." Spot said proudly. "He carries 'em around like he's some big shot, like his daddy used ta do so long ago. But his mother told him never ta smoke." He remembered, smiling at the memory of when Race had finally opened up about that part of his life. His abusive father and his paranoid mother. The ways his dad used to make him learn how to gamble and how he used to smoke and then put out the cigarettes on his boy's skin. But that was over now.

"Me and Racer used ta be the best of friends." Spot explained with a smile, looking around at all the boys, picking out the ones who knew, and the ones who didn't. "Ya know who taught him ta play poker?"

Romeo nodded. "His dad. He was a gambler. Taught Race how ta play when he was four or five." He said confidently, knowing his big brother.

"That's right, kid." Spot laughed, glancing up at Jack, who had his arms folded over his chest as he stood next to Medda while she sat in the chair at Race's bedside. Then he looked back down at the kid that Race had told him all about. "Let me tell you a secret." Spot spoke softly, though he knew every boy in the room was still able to hear him. He watched as Romeo became excited and leaned towards the Brooklyn leader, still in Albert's embrace. "I was the one who taught him how ta win."

"It ain't true." A small, weak voice broke out from the bed. Spot turned and sighed in relief when he saw Race's tired blue eyes open, only a little bit, but enough for Spot to know he was ok. "I was always better than you, Spottie. From the first time we played."

Jack smiled and ran a hand through his friend's hair. "You're supposed to be sleepin', Racer." He mumbled as he leaned down to the boy who just smiled back and rolled his eyes.

"Keep on dreamin', kid." Spot scoffed as he made his way over to his friend's right side, opposite of Medda and Jack. He almost broke when the younger boy looked up at him. The bruises that hid the boy's face made Spot angry. They made him want to hunt down whoever did this to the poor boy and bury them alive. Race seemed to notice him get very quite and he seemed to see the way his face dropped at the sight of him. And the beaten kid's smile fell a little bit.

Race looked up to Jack, and tried to convey a request through a single look. Jack seemed to know what it was in a instant. "Alright, everybody out. Race needs ta get some sleep. He'll be here in the mornin'." He walked over and shooed out his boys, who mumbled complaints as they squeezed Race's hand and shoulder, telling him they were glad he was ok and that they hoped he'd get better soon. Medda gave him a quick kiss before she left. Romeo stayed the longest.

The young boy laid on top of Race for a minute, hugging him, telling him he'd be ok and telling him he was sorry there was nothing he could do to help. Race gave him a kiss on the forehead before letting him run out to Specs who was taking him home.

Then there were four people left. Race, Jack, Crutchie and Spot. The Brooklyn leader looked down at his friend and he swallowed hard. His friend all of the sudden looked so broken. Apparently, he could only let down his guard when his boys weren't in the room. "What happened, kid?" Spot asked, gently. His arms were crossed over his broad chest as he waited for the answer. He felt guilty for asking when Race's eyes started swimming in his frightened, angry tears.

"Hey, hey, hey, kid, stop it." Jack whispered, rubbing his brother's forehead. "It's over. She ain't here now. Can't touch ya anymore."

Race sniffled and it broke Spot's heart. The poor kid closed his eyes and his tears started falling. "Jack?" Spot asked, wanting so badly to get to the bottom of this, to hurt whoever it was who almost killed one of his oldest friends.

Jack looked up at his friend as his brother leaned into his touch. He saw the leader of Brooklyn, the toughest kid in New York, beginning to get desperate as he saw their friend in pain. So he spoke. "His foster mother..." Jack started in a whisper, "That bitch!" He cursed, hating the woman more and more every time he though about it. "She forced herself on him..." He finally got out. "And her husband got jealous, so he took it out on an innocent kid."

Spot's mouth hung open. He moved his hand to touch Race's arm, something to let the kid know he was there for him, but he opted against it and waited a minute. "Race..." He breathed, but the blond Italian shook his head.

"It ain't the first time this has happened, Spot." Race's voice cracked with every word he spoke. He opened up his eyes again and looked up at a heartbroken Brooklyn leader. "When I was in the Refuge..." He hiccuped as the tears started coming faster. "D-Drake did the same thing."

Crutchie wanted nothing more than to just hold his brother while he cried. Telling him it would all be ok and that he had no reason to be scared any more. The monsters of his past were gone, but Crutchie knew that wasn't true. He'd been to the Refuge. He'd met Drake. He heard him talking about Race. It made Crutchie sick to think about.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Spot asked, hurt that this boy, the boy he'd grown up with, didn't tell him that this had happened to him. Wondering why the boy who had told him all his secrets when they were little would keep such an important piece of information from him. Race didn't respond. But suddenly, the six weeks of Race's silence seemed to make more sense.

"You always told me ta be tough, Spot." Race sniffled. "I didn't know how ta tell ya that I'm not strong enough ta protect myself." He cried. He was ashamed. Ashamed that he didn't stop it from happening. Multiple times. And Spot got angry.

"Higgins, you know damn well that this wasn't your fault." Spot spoke very sternly as he leaned down to the bed, taking Race's hand in his. "I taught ya ta be tough, yeah, but ya can't keep things like this from me. I care about you, Tony!" He whispered right in the boy's ear. "When somethin' like this happens, you don't keep it from me because damn it, you ever scare me like that again, I'll kill you myself. Understand?"

Race nodded, vigorously as his tears wouldn't cease. He let Spot gently lift him off the bed into a tight hug. "You're ok, kid." The older boy promised. "You're alright." He soothed as he gently lowered his friend back down to the bed.

"I'm sorry, Spot." Race whispered, starting to calm down a bit.

Spot just smiled and ruffled his hair. "Get some sleep, kid." He looked up at the other two boys in the room. "We ain't goin' no where." And he smiled as the boy drifted off into much needed sleep.

 **I love Spot Conlon.**

 **Make sure to go check out my other fics! You guys motivate me to write! Go comment on Working With What We Got! I'm trying to finish the next chapter right now, but you're guys' reviews would certainly help! Also, feel free to PM me at anytime. Thanks!**

 **As always, make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change and what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Love ya babes!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Good morning guys! I'm so happy that I got so many reviews yesterday! Thank you guy so much for continuing to read this hell of a life for our boys. I'm sorry I torture them, but I'm glad you guys love to read my stories.**

 **Please keep sending requests and questions! I love them so much! I had so much fun with the last one-shot I wrote so if you want to see a scene in your head come to life, send me the scene and the characters in a review or PM me and I'll see what I can do. Thank you!**

 **For all requests in my other stories, (Fanz4life for Working With What We Got) I love the ideas. I will fit them in! Thank you so so much!**

 **Now, for all of my lovely reviewers who have been asking for more scenes like this, enjoy!**

Katherine all but ran through the hospital. She couldn't believe that Jack had waited this long to tell her that one of her boys was hurt. When she made it to the door, she stopped, collecting herself for a moment, before calmly pushing the door open. Then she smiled at what she saw inside.

Spot sat at the top of the bed, completely passed out. One of his legs dangled from the mattress, while the other was folded under Racetrack's head. Next to the injured boy, Crutchie lay, curled up at his side, completely asleep. And in the corner of the room, a pencil and paper in his hand, sat Jack Kelly.

Katherine smiled sadly at him before she walked over to him, sitting on the arm rest of the chair he occupied. She gently wrapped her arms around the boy, leaning on him as she looked upon his latest drawing. "You could just take a picture you know." She smirked as she saw he'd been drawing the scene in front of them.

Jack looked up at her and gave her a sad excuse for a smile before he looked back at his paper. "Where's the fun in that?" He asked as she leaned down to give him a gentle kiss on the cheek. "Besides," He laughed, "Spot will only let me draw pictures of him. That way he can deny 'em."

Katherine smile and then looked back at the three boys on the bed. She sighed. "Is he ok?" She asked, quietly.

The small smile that had been on Jack's face fell, like it had never even been there. "Doctors say that he's real lucky he got here when he did. A few minutes later and... he wouldn't be ok..." Jack said, gravely, looking over at the boy he'd almost lost the night before.

Katherine nodded and held her boyfriend tighter as she noticed him starting to get lost in his own head. Then something occurred to her. "Are you okay, Jack?" She asked, hoping her boy wasn't blaming himself for what had happened, whatever it had been that happened. Jack hadn't told her. All she knew was that Race was hurt.

Jack almost lied. He opened his mouth tell her that he was fine. But he couldn't take his eyes off of his oldest friend. His eyes filled with tears as flashes of the previous night passed through his mind. Race's screams on the other side of the phone, his friend on the ground, not able to breathe, the blood on his own shirt as he watched Race being rolled away on a stretcher. Then he finally spoke, "I don't know, Ace..." He muttered. "I almost lost him..." Jack threw his drawing on the table sitting next to him and his head fell into his hands.

"Oh Jack," Katherine sighed as she started rubbing her boyfriend's back. "It's ok. He's gonna be alright." She tried to soothe. She kissed the back of his head and leaned her body against his back. "This isn't your fault."

"I couldn't stop it, Ace." Jack shook his head and wiped away the tears that had started falling before he looked up. "I promised him I wouldn't let it happen again. He's been through this too many times and he doesn't deserve that!" He whispered, not wanting to wake up the three boys on the bed.

Katherine didn't know what Race had been through. She didn't know what had happened to him before or now. But she knew she had to tell Jack something. That this wasn't his fault. "Jack, I know that Race won't blame you for whatever happened to him. He's strong and he knows better than that."

"What kind of a brother am I if I can't protect my boys?" Jack's voice was quiet. It shook as he thought about all the things that had happened to the kids that he lived to protect. "I let them take half of my brothers to the Refuge." He started, his voice still deep. "I couldn't stop JoJo from being shoved into a locker by some football players or Albert from being locked in a basement for days or Specs from getting his glasses snapped in half by some jerk on the street or Crutchie from being dragged away by his bum leg and beaten with his own damn crutch..." Jack sighed. "I didn't think he'd make it, Katherine. And then this happens to Race again and I'm wonderin' why this is all happenin'." He let some tears fall. "They raped him. And they didn't even feel sorry about it. And I couldn't stop him from bein' almost beaten ta death by a jealous husband!"

Katherine gasped as he heard the real story of what had happened. That torture shouldn't happen to anyone. Race especially. She shook her head and rested held Jack tighter. "Jack you are the best brother any of these boys could ask for." She promised. She remembered everything she'd seen him do for his boys. She remembered when Jack had worked overtime for a week because Henry had gotten sick and needed warmer clothes and some meds. She remembered when Elmer had twists his ankle on the way to Jacobi's and without a second thought, Jack had scooped him up and carried him the rest of the way there. She remembered when Sniper had been shivering in the snow a few days ago and Jack had given up his jacket for him and almost frozen himself so that his brother could be warm. "Jack, you got a job and you work so hard so that you and Crutchie can live in an apartment. So that he won't be put in another foster home that will hurt him because of his leg. You constantly give up your jacket for him and your food and your water. Damn it Jack, you gave up your childhood for him!"

Jack shook his head. It wasn't enough. It never would be. But Katherine wasn't finished. "Jack, you've protected Race as best you could." She said, sternly. "You think I don't notice when he sits as close to you as possible on the days he gets quieter? Or when he gets up out of no where and walks into the bathroom and you follow him to make sure he's ok? And you think I don't notice when he comes back out with puffy eyes and a terrified look on his face?" She asked, whispering harshly right in his ear. "Jack, I know that you met Race when he was six. I know he wasn't doing well when you found him. Cold, uneducated, too small for his age, out on the streets with nothing to protect him. He was starving and you think that it's your responsibility to protect him from the world."

"It is!" Jack whispered. "When I met him... he asked me if I was there ta hurt him. I told him... I promised him that I'd protect him. No matter what. And I couldn't do it!" He cried. "I couldn't protect him from... from Oscar or Snyder or Tiffany or..." Jack shook his head. "Or Drake." The name sent a shiver down his spine. "He's my little brother. Him and Crutchie and my boys are my little brothers. It's my job to make sure they get to just be kids. To protect them from the world. And I failed."

Katherine held her boyfriend as he cried. She kissed the back of his head and held him close. "I'm so sorry, Jack." She whispered.

Race's head hurt as he stirred. His eyes fluttered open and he looked up to see Spot Conlon, the great leader of Brooklyn, completely asleep as he lay on his lap. The beaten boy smiled and then looked down at his other brother. Crutchie's head was on his shoulder and his broken arm was slung around the younger boy's shoulders. He pressed a soft kiss to Crutchie's hair before he looked around the room. He smiled as his little brother snuggled up to him more but then his eyes fell upon the two people in the corner.

He saw Jack quietly sobbing with his head in his hands. He saw Katherine leaning against his back, trying to comfort him. And then Race's heart broke. Because if he knew anything right then, it was that those tears were for him, because of him. And it hurt.

Katherine looked up to see Race watching them. "Racetrack!" She sighed in relief as quietly as she could and walked over to him, grabbing Jack's hand and dragging him there with her. "Hey, Race." She smiled as she made her way to the boy's right, placing a hand on his free arm.

Jack quickly wipe the tears from his face with the back of his hand. "Hey, Racer. How ya feelin'?" He asked in an even tone.

Race rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, Jack. All thanks ta you. You saved me. Got me outta there." He assured the older boy. "Thank you, Jack. For givin' up everything so's we could have the life we have." He said, gently.

Jack smiled. "I'm sorry, Race." He whispered. "I'm sorry ya went through what you went through-"

"It ain't your fault, Jack." Race swore. "It ain't no ones fault but the people who did it." He promised, grasping Jack's hand without moving Katherine's off his arm. The woman leaned down and kissed his cheek and Race smiled.

"I'm so glad you're okay." She whispered in his ear.

"Me too." Race agreed, smirking up at her. "I don't know what Jackie boy would do if he didn't have me around."

Jack actually laughed at that. That may as well have been the first time he'd heard his friend crack a joke in two days. And it felt good to hear. "You're right, Racer." He nodded, squeezing the boy's hand in his. "It's a fine life as long as I got you boys in it." Then Jack turned to Katherine. "And you, Ace." She pressed another kiss to his cheek and he blushed.

Race nodded and smiled up at him. Then he looked around at Spot and Crutchie and repeats the words. "A fine life." He agreed.

 **There it was. The last chapter of this story. I know, it's sad. But the next one just gets so much worse. I'm sorry. If you're excited for the next one, or the one that I talked about last time, the one where Race gets actually tortured, let me know in the reviews!**

 **I'm currently working on the next chapter of Woring With What We Got and Still Callin' You Baby, so if you're waiting on those thank you so much! I'll have them up as soon as I finish them! In the mean time, please feel free to go read some of my one-shots, shoot me some more requests or ideas, and review some of my previous stories. All are greatly appreciated!**

 **As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Thanks so much for reading this story up till the very end! Love ya fansies! See ya next story! (The Spider's Revenge)**


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